Cupertino girl tripped up in National Spelling Bee finals

Updated 11:14 pm, Thursday, May 29, 2014

Neha Konakalla, of Cupertino, Calif., competes in the semifinals of the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md., Thursday, May 29, 2014. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

Neha Konakalla, of Cupertino, Calif., competes in the semifinals of the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md., Thursday, May 29, 2014. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

Photo: Chuck Myers, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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Speller Neha Konakalla, of Cupertino, Calif., is congratulated upon being named a finalist for the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md., Thursday, May 29, 2014. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

Speller Neha Konakalla, of Cupertino, Calif., is congratulated upon being named a finalist for the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md., Thursday, May 29, 2014. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

Photo: Chuck Myers, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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Neha Konakalla, an eighth-grader at Sam H. Lawson Middle School in Cupertino, secures a spot in the finals for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Neha Konakalla, an eighth-grader at Sam H. Lawson Middle School in Cupertino, secures a spot in the finals for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Photo: Siobhán O'Grady

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Neha Konakalla, an eighth-grader at Sam H. Lawson Middle School in Cupertino, after qualifying for the finals at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Neha Konakalla, an eighth-grader at Sam H. Lawson Middle School in Cupertino, after qualifying for the finals at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Photo: Siobhán O'Grady

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Neha Konakalla, 14, of Cupertino competes in the finals of the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Neha Konakalla, 14, of Cupertino competes in the finals of the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Photo: Chuck Myers, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Cupertino girl tripped up in National Spelling Bee finals

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NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- It was an Italian word for an old overcoat that got her.

Fourteen-year-old Neha Konakalla breezed through "chrysochlorous" in the first round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee's championship finals, but she tripped up on "taglioni," getting it right until the last letter - finishing with an "e" instead of an "i" in front of the microphone and a national audience Thursday night.

After asking for the definition, the Sam H. Lawson Middle School eighth-grader from Cupertino immediately identified the word as Italian. "Taglioni" is the word for a particular overcoat worn in the early 19th century and comes from the surname of an Italian ballet master.

Neha heard the word used in a sentence and checked her pronunciation with the judges, but the "e" disqualified her.

She walked off the stage and away from the gleaming gold trophy sitting in front of the remaining contestants. She received a standing ovation.

Neha was the second speller to be eliminated in the finals, placing 11th. She will receive a $1,500 prize for making it to the last round. The champion will get $30,000.

The bee began Tuesday, with 281 spellers from around the world taking a computer test. After several rounds of onstage spelling, the judges narrowed the pool to 46 semifinalists and then 12 finalists.

Some competitors wrote letters with their fingers on their palms, while others did the same on their blue placards, which bore their number, name, city and sponsor. Several mimed typing on a keyboard.

Over the course of the week, Neha correctly spelled "tarpaulin," "recalcitrant," "graveolent" and "glaucescent" onstage. She also scored high enough on two written tests, which included vocabulary and spelling, to qualify for the semifinals and finals.

Neha first participated in a spelling bee in third grade, when she knew only one word on the list. She said that failed attempt challenged her to become a better speller.

"The competition excited me because I like competition," she said. "I also like learning about the words because it exposes you to so many different topics."

Another Bay Area student, Shirlyn Prabahar, 13, of San Ramon correctly spelled "mozzarella" and "kodiak" onstage Wednesday but did not have a high enough written score to qualify for the next round.

Neha was sponsored by KPIX-TV and KCBS Radio and came to the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center with her parents and brother, Rohan, 11.

She made it through the preliminary rounds last year. Because Neha is an eighth-grader, she will not be eligible to participate again.

How speller got there

The words Cupertino eighth-grader Neha Konskalla had to spell in the Scripps National Spelling Bee and their definitions. The first one listed knocked her out of the competition.

Taglioni - a noun, meaning an overcoat worn in the early 19th century.

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